Pt. Parameshwar Hegde is well-known in the music circles of India for his rich and imaginative vocalism. He is also recognized as the torchbearer of the late legendary musician Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru’s music. It is part of common knowledge that he is the recipient of several awards and has given concerts at several prestigious venues in India and abroad. But not many know, that like his guru, he too keeps the doors of his home and heart to a large band of students. This much sought after guru celebrates the 25th year of Guru Poornima, along with all his students at the Parameshwar Hegde Sangeet Academy. Guru Poornima is after all an offering of gratitude that gurus and shishyas do hand in hand.
Who can decipher life’s courses? Born and brought up in Uttara Kannada, Pt. Hegde learnt from gurus S.M. Bhat and later from Chandrashekhar Puranikmath. It so happened that his guru, Puranikmath, had to move to Dharwad, and Pt. Hegde also enrolled for his graduation a the University there, so that he could keep his music lessons going. Learning from Pt. Rajguru was not even a faint thought in his mind. “I did not by any stretch of imagination think I would be learning under the great man…. It my guru Puranikmath who made it happen…,” he reminiscences. Puranikmath, who worked for All India Radio, Dharwad, initiated the conversation when Rajguru came for a recording. “Would you consider teaching my disciple…?” he is supposed to have asked. Rajguru took all the details from Puranikmath, told him he was leaving for a concert to Shimoga soon and the to-be disciple can meet him at the Railway Station. “It was all too sudden and unexpected. I did not understand the intention of my guru who I was so fond off. However, I didn’t have the courage to question, so I turned up at the station at the appointed time. The first horse tonga arrived, the second, third… I was getting restless, finally came Pt. Rajguru, with lot of luggage. I ran upto the tonga, introduced myself and touched his feet. ‘Keep all the luggage on the platform’, he said. I was melting in awe, anxiety, trepidation…. We reached Shimoga.”
The concert began, Pt. Rajguru put the young man on the tanpura. Shy that he was, the tanpura was a good shield. At one point, Rajguru asked him to sing. “He couldn’t hear me because the tanpura was covering me, and my voice wouldn’t travel. He looked me, pulled my face from behind the tanpura, and rather irritatedly said: ‘how do you expect your voice to be heard?’ The audience burst into laughter. It was no big thing, but super sensitive that I was, I wanted to cry…” Rajguru sensed it. Hegde would not open his mouth after that however many times he was asked to. “I had decided that once we reached Dharwad, I would leave all the luggage at his home, go back to my guru and never meet him again!” But the minute they reached the hotel, Rajguru came to Hegde’s room with fruits. “You are so thin. If you have to be a good musician, you must eat well. Do you know what a nice base voice you have? You are very talented, you must nurture it…,” cajoling him, he asked the room boy to bring a glass of hot milk. “Then he ordered food, and sat with me till I ate….,” I have no words to explain that affection. “Usually, it takes many years to see the softer face of the guru, but I got to see it on the very first day itself. I was always surprised by Pt. Rajguru’s enthusiasm to teach. More so, because he was an acclaimed performer. Even young learners found a place in his schedule, and he was extremely encouraging towards them,” remembers Pt. Parameshwar Hegde, with unfaded astonishment.
Pt. Rajguru’s riyaz would begin at 5.30 a.m. in the morning. Pt. Hegde remembers how he would run to his house in those cold Dharwad mornings. A glass of hot ovaltin would be waiting for everyone, and riyaz would begin. “That ovaltin warmed up our body and senses. And what a great musical mind! In the beginning it was only listening to him practice, lessons began much later.” Pt. Rajguru was a perfectionist. He would chisel the music of his students patiently, and uncompromisingly. “I have travelled with him all over the country, and listening itself was a huge learning experience. In those days, he was a sought after performer. Yet, he did not compromise on his teaching. Unlike today, those musicians were not rich. But they welcomed everyone. They were great hosts, offering food and tea to all who came in. I have never seen him ask any of his students to pay him fees. He took whatever they gave him, and whenever they gave him. No demands were made by him, ever. Tell me, can you find such musicians now?”
In fact, Pt. Hegde says he was fortunate that all his three gurus were of the same temperament. They not only belonged to the same school of thought, but also shared the same values. “My guru S.M. Bhat, he taught me and all my siblings. Since I was the youngest, by the time my turn came I would be asleep in his lap. They were such gentle and noble souls… he would often say, ‘I don’t know a lot of music, but whatever I know I will teach you’. He laid a very strong foundation for us.” To this day, Pt. Hegde cannot believe what his teacher Puranikmath did for him. “Can you think of one more guru in the world of music who has taken his best student to another musician? In those days I did not understand this much, but now when I think about it -- after being a guru for over 25 years -- it really takes an elevated soul to have such generosity. He simply said, ‘you deserve Rajguru’. What magnanimity!”
Rajguru, on the other hand, grew very fond of Pt. Hegde. He would repeatedly ask, “When are you going to do the ganda bandhan ceremony? Since I was also a student of other gurus, he probably wanted to make sure that I would tell the world that I am his student. Eventually, we did have the ceremony… Gangubai Hangal and N.K. were present,” he remembers. His gurus are a huge presence in Pt. Hegde’s life. “It is beyond music. I am deeply moved by their sincerity, simplicity and austere practice of music. They were uncompromising intellectually, and I value it immensely. Rajguru used to say every student is worth more than a lakh of rupees. Today, I have realized its meaning. Money, fame, success… everything is transient. The happiness a good student gives you is immeasurable.” Pt. Hegde is a task master. “I abhor short cuts, and I totally reject an idle engagement. Sometimes, when my mind is tired, I let a floppy presentation go by, but immediately I correct myself, and put my students through the grind. If I slip as a teacher, I will fail as a performer too. The same carelessness will creep into my singing as well. ”
The guru is not merely the giver of knowledge, but is a value to be emulated. “I have tried to follow my gurus in whatever way I can. This tradition should live on – not just of music, but also of generosity, and simplicity.”
